SAPEACU, Brazil (CNN) – Shopkeepers and school children in this remote Brazilian farming town giggle and point when Rebecca Bernardo pedals by on her rusty red bicycle.
The unwanted attention started a few months ago when the Brazilian high school student posted a video on YouTube.
Wearing a sleeveless pink top and standing next to a mirror showing her profile as she speaks, Bernardo announces to the camera, “Hi, my name is Rebecca. I’m here to auction off my virginity.”
Bernardo told CNN she made the offer because she was desperate to help her ailing mother. She heard about Catarina Migliorini, a Brazilian woman who reportedly sold her virginity for $780,000 on an Australian website seeking virgins. Migliorini has reportedly yet to finalize the deal and receive the money, and Brazil is reportedly investigating whether the website should be charged with human trafficking. Nevertheless, Migliorini has received widespread publicity and modeling contracts — including a spread in Brazil’s version of Playboy magazine.